Data Presented at ASH 2011 Evaluate a Genetic Marker that may
Help Identify High-risk Patients and Potential Therapeutic Targets for
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dimara Almeida, Press Room Manager
212-884-0661
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Nancie Steinberg,
Media
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nsteinberg@chamberlainpr.com
NEW YORK - Data unveiled today during the late-breaking press briefing of
the American Society of Hypertension Inc.'s 26th Annual Scientific Meeting and
Exposition (ASH 2011) explores the affect of spaceflight on BP, evaluates masked
hypertension in African Americans, investigates the genetics of hypertension,
and examines a new potential combination treatment to reduce blood pressure
(BP).
"Hypertension is responsible for more cardiovascular disease in the United
States and the world than any other risk factor. As the incidence of
hypertension, especially resistant hypertension, continues to dramatically
increase in the United States and the world, it is imperative that healthcare
providers are able to better identify and effectively treat patients with
hypertension," said ASH press briefing moderator Robert A. Phillips, MD, PhD,
Senior Vice-President and Director, Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence,
UMass Memorial Medical Center and Professor of Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School. "The findings presented today contribute to the
growing understanding of hypertension and further the search for new screening
and treatment options to reduce uncontrolled high blood pressure."
Studies
highlighted in the press briefing include:
Longterm (3 - 5 months) Spaceflight Promotes a Sustained Decrease in Blood
Pressure and Systemic Vascular Resistance in Astronauts
Researchers found that the systolic/diastolic BP of astronauts decreased
during spaceflight. Additionally, cardiac output increased, while systemic
vascular resistance decreased, which accounted for the decrease in BP. The
findings indicate that gravity on Earth modulates BP in humans.
"That long-term spaceflights decreases BP indicates to us that the daily
gravitational load on our bodies increases it," explains lead study author Peter
Norsk, MD, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. "Whether this has implications for
understanding mechanisms of hypertension should be a focus of future interest.
Perhaps our modern lifestyle of being upright seated during hours of work during
the day, whereby gravity from head to feet induces high pressure gradients in
the blood circulation, is a factor for developing high BP. Spaceflight
experiments might deliver some answers in the future."
Consistency of Masked Hypertension in African Americans during Repeat Office
Visits
Data suggest that hypertension in African Americans may not always be
identified by a single doctor's office visit. The findings provide further
evidence that African Americans have a high prevalence of masked hypertension,
which occurs when BP levels are normal when measured inside the doctor's office,
but increase when measured outside the doctor's office when evaluated with
ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
"Our data further reinforce the role of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring,
which can help identify patients who have high blood pressure, but do not
present as such during doctor office visits," explains lead study author Praveen
Veerabhadrappa MD, MS, Research Fellow, International Society of Hypertension
Doctoral Candidate, Hypertension Molecular & Applied Physiology Lab. "In
addition, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is an important tool in
identifying white coat hypertension."
Azilsartan Medoxomil plus Chlorthalidone Reduces BP More Effectively than
Olmesartan plus HCTZ in Stage 2 Systolic Hypertension
A randomized, double-blind, 12-week trial finds that fixed-dosed combination
treatment with azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone (AZL-M/CLD), an ARB and a
diuretic, was superior to treatment with fixed-dose combination treatment with
olmesartan medoxomil and thiazide diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (OLM/HCTZ), also
an ARB and a diuretic, in reducing systolic BP.
"This is the first large, forced-titration study of a long-acting angiotensin
II receptor blocker and chlorthalidone combination treatment," explains William
Cushman, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, Medicine, and Physiology,
University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee. "Our results
demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing blood pressure when compared to the
fixed-dose combination of olmesartan medoxomil and thiazide diuretic
hydrocholorothiazide."
About the American Society of Hypertension
The American Society of
Hypertension, Inc. (ASH) is the largest U.S. professional organization of
scientific investigators and healthcare professionals committed to eliminating
hypertension and its consequences. ASH is dedicated to promoting strategies to
prevent hypertension and to improving the care of patients with hypertension and
associated disorders. The Society serves as a scientific forum that bridges
current hypertension research with effective clinical treatment strategies for
patients. For more information, please visit http://www.ash-us.org.